#DatingWhileDistancing

Abstract

This chapter examines how international dating app companies responded in the early months of the pandemic. Dating apps were popularised in the early 2010s and result from the digitisation of dating services that began in the 1990s. Dating apps are also associated with important health-related issues. Health researchers and practitioners have quickly identified dating apps as potential tools that could be leveraged to reach target populations. The Coronavirus disease (COVID) pandemic is a uniquely rich case study for examining the role of dating apps as responsive to digital health. Like many popular social media platforms, dating app companies started communicating with their users about the risks related to the novel coronavirus by mid-March 2020. Dating apps that cater to queer men were particularly active in health communication. In-app communications were not exclusively used to engage in digital health but were also mobilised in marketing ploys.

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